Michael Cohen expected in court as Trump lawyers ask to see raided materials

NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - A longtime personal lawyer for U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to appear Monday in Manhattan federal court as he seeks an order limiting federal prosecutors' ability to review documents seized in raids on his home and office last week.

Michael Cohen, who prosecutors revealed last week is under criminal investigation, has asked the court to give his own lawyers the first look at the seized materials so they can identify documents that are protected by attorney-client privilege.

Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels plans to attend Monday's hearing, her lawyer Michael Avenatti, said on Sunday. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is engaged in a legal battle with Cohen over a $130,000 agreement for her to keep quiet about a 2006 sexual encounter she says she had with Trump.

In a court filing Sunday night, lawyers for Trump asked to be allowed to review documents that in any way relate to the president.

Lawyers for Cohen appeared without their client at a hearing Friday before U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood. The judge ordered that Cohen himself be present Monday so that he could answer questions about his clients.

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U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen exits a hotel in New York City, U.S., April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Michael Cohen, personal attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to appear before Senate Intelligence Committee staff as the panel investigates alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen drives after leaving his hotel in New York City, U.S., April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Attorney Michael Cohen arrives at Trump Tower for meetings with President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in New York.

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Michael Cohen, personal attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, talks to reporters as he departs after meeting with Senate Intelligence Committee staff as the panel investigates alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for National Security Advisor, Michael Cohen, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Donald Trump, and former Texas Governor Rick Perry talk with each other in the lobby at Trump Tower, December 12, 2016 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling cabinet and other high level positions for the new administration.

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UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 19: Michael Cohen, center, a personal attorney for President Trump, leaves Hart Building after his meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss Russian interference in the 2016 election was postponed on September 19, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Attorney Michael Cohen arrives to Trump Tower for meetings with President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in New York.

Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, White House national security adviser-designate, from left, Michael Cohen, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Donald Trump, and Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, speak in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S., on Monday, Dec. 12, 2016. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he had the 'highest confidence' in the intelligence community, in sharp contrast to President-elect Donald Trump's attack on the CIA after reports it found that the Russian government tried to help him win the presidency.

Attorney Michael Cohen arrives to Trump Tower for meetings with President-elect Donald Trump on December 16, 2016 in New York.

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UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 19: Michael Cohen, center, a personal attorney for President Trump, leaves Hart Building after his meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss Russian interference in the 2016 election was postponed on September 19, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen exits a hotel in New York City, U.S., April 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen is pictured leaving a restaurant in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Levy

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen is pictured arriving at his hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Levy

Michael Cohen, personal attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump, departs after meeting with Senate Intelligence Committee staff as the panel investigates alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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Cohen did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week's raids came after a "months-long" investigation of possible crimes related largely to Cohen's business dealings, rather than his work as a lawyer, prosecutors said in a court filing on Friday.

A source familiar with the raids said last week that the information FBI agents were seeking included information about payments to Daniels.

The raids were based partly on a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller who is investigating possible collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, according to court filings.

Trump has called Mueller's probe a "witch hunt" and denied any collusion.

Todd Harrison, a lawyer for Cohen, said at Friday's hearing that "thousands" of documents seized were likely privileged, and that many related to clients other than Trump.

Prosecutors have asked that the seized documents be reviewed for attorney-client privilege by a "filter team" of lawyers within their own office, who would be walled off from the main prosecution team. The use of filter teams is standard in federal criminal investigations.

Wood ordered Cohen's lawyers to be ready with a list of Cohen's clients on Monday to support their argument.

Wood is also expected to hear from a lawyer representing Trump. Joanna Hendon appeared for the president at Friday's hearing, telling Wood that Trump had "an acute interest" in the handling of the seized materials. She argued in Sunday's court filing that a Chinese wall in the prosecutor's office was not enough in the "highly politicized, even fevered, atmosphere" around the probe.

Avenatti, Daniels' lawyer, said at Friday's hearing that he had "every reason to believe" that some documents seized from Cohen related to his client. Cohen has acknowledged paying Daniels $130,000 in 2006.

Cohen also arranged a $1.6-million payment to secure the silence of a former Playboy model who said she became pregnant by Elliott Broidy, a top Republican fundraiser, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson and Karen Freifeld in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi)